Letting Go
by Ethereal Fae
Summary: Ten years later, and old friend stops by to talk with Yugi. Now, Yugi is forced to come to terms with the one subject he's tried to avoid. Atem.


Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Author's Note: I thought of this at midnight, and for some reason I just couldn't get it out of my mind, so here we go. Please leave a review!

**Letting Go**

The bell of the Turtle Game Shop elicited a soft ring, informing the occupant of the shop. A woman stepped inside, her black heels clicking against the tile.

"Sorry, we're closed."

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend...Yugi Motou."

Yugi Motou, who had been placing new booster decks on the back shelves behind the counter turned around sharply. His eyes widened in surprise at the woman who was now leaning against the counter, a smirk gracing her delicate features.

"R-Rebecca? Is that you?"

"The one and only." Rebecca smiled with a wink.

It had been ten years since he'd last seen Rebecca Hawkins, and, quite frankly, the ten years had done wonders to her. Now at the age of 22, Rebecca had blossomed from a scrawny, know-it-all, to a curvaceous and beautiful, intelligent woman. Her hair had grown to the small of her waist and was pulled partly back with a clip. She had traded her half-rimmed glasses for more studious, square-rimmed ones. Her eyes were sharper, and held a wisdom beyond her years. She wore a simple button-up, white, business shirt, and a slimming black skirt. The silver 'KC' embroidery on the collar of her shirt raised questions in his mind.

"Working for Kaiba?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "But not the Kaiba your thinking of."

"Mokuba?" Yugi asked, a little shocked.

Rebecca nodded again, and smiled. "Mokuba took over for his brother a little over a year ago. Seto's living in America now, working on the next big phenomenon: Dungeon Dice Monsters with Duke Devlin."

"Seto? Since when do you call him Seto?"

"Since he's my brother-in-law." Rebecca held out her left hand for Yugi to see. A simple gold band rested on her fourth finger.

"Congratulations." Yugi smiled. Rebecca nodded in thanks.

There was a comfortable silence between them and Rebecca took this time to look over Yugi.

He hadn't changed too much over the course of ten years. He was 26 and the most that had noticeably changed was his height. He now stood 3 or 4 inches above her. His eyes were sharper, but held some kind of sadness, that, deep in her heart, she knew what it was. His voice was also deeper. He wore a light blue business shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and black business pants.

Rebecca mentally smiled at the memory of having such a crush on him as a young girl. She drifted back to reality and asked the question that had plagued her since she walked in.

"So...how are you? I mean, since..."

He knew where this was going.

"Oh! I'm great! Couldn't be better."

Rebecca shook her head. "It's ok to miss him, you know."

Yugi didn't want to talk about this, he couldn't. At least not here.

"Do you want to go to the café down the street?"

Rebecca smiled knowingly. "Sure."

The walk there was relatively quiet. Rebecca occasionally glanced at him, smiling gently when he was off in thought. They reached the café in just a few minutes and Yugi opened the door for her. They sat at a booth in the back and both ordered a cup of coffee.

The waitress came a few moments later with their coffee.

Rebecca decided to let the subject of the Pharaoh slide. For now. Sooner or later he'd have to come to terms with this, but for now she'd opt for asking what everyone else was up to.

"So," She took a sip of her coffee. "Have you heard from any of your friends lately?"

"Um, yeah! Joey called about a week ago. He and Tristan own a car repair shop downtown. I guess Tristan and Serenity are married now, and their expecting their first child within the next few months." Yugi took a sip of coffee.

Rebecca smiled. "What about Joey?"

Yugi chuckled. "Do you remember Mai?" Rebecca nodded." "Well, their married now, big surprise. They have a little girl, and Joey told me they just got her to take her first steps." Yugi smiled.

He liked talking about his friends. It seemed like just yesterday they were all at Duelist Kingdom, but that was a thing of the past. So was Duel Monsters in general, for that matter. His shop was losing business because of it.

"Have you heard from anyone else?" Rebecca asked.

Yugi shook his head. "No. I haven't heard from Tea, the last time I talked to her was about five years ago, and she had made it into the American Ballet Company in New York."

"Yes, she did. I should probably tell you though, she married Seto. They have a boy now, he's 3. You know, I always thought you two would end up together, funny how things change."

Yugi was a little disappointed at hearing this, but recovered quickly. "I could've sworn you always thought _we_ were gonna end up together." Yugi laughed at the blush creeping across her face.

"Hey! Give me a break, I was twelve!" She laughed with him.

The laughing died shortly and they were left in a comfortable silence again. A few moments of silence passed before Rebecca finally plucked up the courage to state the obvious.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt."

Taken aback by her statement, he stared at her. "W-hat do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. I'm only going to say this once so listen up. He's gone, Yugi. You have to let go of the past. You _are_ the King of Games, you _are_ strong, and...you don't need him anymore." She said the last part more softly seeing the hurt in his eyes.

"I don't know what your talking about. I'm just fine." Yugi said defensively.

"A river in Egypt, Yugi." Rebecca chided.

"Fine. Ok, your right. There. I said it. Happy now?" He crossed his arms and glared out the window next to them.

Rebecca sighed, it was now or never. "When you wake up in the morning...do you ever expect to see the puzzle resting there, around your neck."

"Every day of my life. I keep waiting to wake up, like this is all just a dream. I keeping waiting for my alarm clock to scream in my ear, and waking up to find it sitting there on my desk, like we're back in highschool. I keep wishing things were the way they used to be, when the gang was still together and we were saving the world from the next big threat. I wish. That's basically it. I just keep wishing."

Rebecca smiled sympathetically. He really meant a lot to him. "He really meant a lot to you, didn't he?"

Yugi nodded. "It's hard not for it to mean anything though, I mean, we shared a mind and body for four years. It kind of leaves a lasting impact on you. I always thought of him as the brother I never had. He was there for me. When I was uncertain of myself, he gave me confidence. When I was upset, he gave me strength."

It felt good to talk about this. His heart felt lighter all of the sudden. Like a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Maybe Rebecca was right, it's ok to let go, but that didn't mean he had to forget. No. He'd never forget.

**Be-beep-be-beep-be-beep-be–**

"Oh, that beeper! I'm sorry Yugi. I have to go. Mokuba wants me back at the office."

"That's alright, and Rebecca?"

Rebecca stood up to leave, "Hmm?"

"Thanks."

Rebecca smiled. "Anytime."

Yugi got up and walked with her outside. They shared a final hug and goodbye before she ran off down the street.

Yugi walked off in the opposite direction, hands in his pockets.

Things were going to be ok. He knew that now. It was like they had always said. . .

"It's your move."

**Fin**

* * *

_Well, I hope you enjoyed this. I needed to write something different than all the humor and fluff in my other fic, **Yugioh: Tykes to the Rescue**. For those who read it, don't worry, I'm not giving up on it! _

_And sorry if it's not that well written, it is. . .1:27am now. . .yikes! O.O_

_Until next time (with my **Tykes** fic),_

_Littleslg_


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